1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to low temperature co-fired ceramic structures ("LTCC"). More specifically, the invention relates to burying capacitors within LTCC structures.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a strong and growing need for miniaturized electronic circuitry, especially capacitors.
Chip capacitors have been used as part of an effort to meet this need. However, these utilize top level real estate and require labor to assemble and track.
Another solution which has been explored is capstrates. However, these also require additional labor and materials and secondary processing to generate signal interconnections.
Another technology which is rapidly developing uses low temperature co-fired ceramics ("LTCC"). Stacks of LTCC tape are oriented around various electronic components. The resulting structure is then laminated by low temperature firing.
Unfortunately, prior attempts by applicants to incorporate capacitors into an LTCC structure have met with several problems, including distortion, cracking, and bowing of the LTCC structure during co-firing.